Planned Parenthood Shooting Suspect Appears in Court

By: Cheri Mossburg, Holly Yan, Catherine E. Shoichet and Pamela Brown

CNN - November 30, 2015

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/us/colorado-planned-parenthood-shooting/index.html

Who: Robert Lewis Dear, the man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. Mr. Dear claimed to be a devout christian and had a past history of domestic violence.

What: Mr. Dear appeared in court Monday, November 30, for the first time since the shooting. Around noon last Friday, Dear initiated a gun battle that lasted five hours and killed three people including a police officer, and wounded nine others. It is not yet known what Dear’s motives were and what his mental state was. Dear supposedly yelled “no more baby parts” when he entered the facility. This statement relates to the charge that Planned Parenthood has illegally trafficked in the sale of fetal organs. He expressed anti-abortion and anti-government views in interviews with investigators as well as mentioning “baby parts.” The state of Colorado is taking the lead in the investigation, and the FBI is also conducting its own investigation to determine whether federal charges will be filed. On Monday, the judge informed Dear that he is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder. If he is convicted of this crime, he would face a minimum penalty of life in prison and a maximum penalty of death. The next hearing and formal filing of charges in this case will take place on December 9. This closely watched case has already united even staunch opponents in the abortion debate. The U.S. attorney’s decision on whether to bring federal hate crime or terrorism charges will take more time and further investigation.

Where: Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs.

When: The shooting took place midday last Friday (November 27). The shooting lasted for five hours.

Why: At this point, it is unclear what the shooter’s motives were. It appears that Dear has anti-abortion and anti-government views from the comments that he made with the investigators. Since he reportedly yelled out “no more baby parts” and mentioned “baby parts” in his interviews with investigators, it seems that the shooter was motivated by “opposition to safe and legal abortion.” Mr. Dear was also quoted saying that he believed anti-abortion extremists who claimed responsibility for several bombings and shootings were “heroes” and doing the “work of the Lord.”

Democratic Values:

Justice - Justice is needed for the families who lost loved ones in the shooting. The families need to see the shooter brought to justice for his wrongdoings. Everyone deserve fair and reasonable treatment under the law, and the victims’ families should receive compensation for their losses.

Common Good - One of the categories of the Common Good is general safety and security for all. The Planned Parenthood Clinic was definitely not safe or secure during the shooting. After this shooting, some people will feel unsafe at Planned Parenthood Clinics or places in general. What is in our best interests for all of us is for people to feel safe wherever they go and not have to worry about shooters or other criminals.

Individual Rights - After this shooting, the issue about gun control has come to the forefront once again. Should people be allowed to own and carry guns around in the wake of yet another shooting. Taking away gun rights would restrict our rights as individuals. Would it be fair for the government to place restrictions on our right to own a gun?

Bias: There is not much bias in this article.The authors of this article, though, seem to disguise their own opinions as news a few times throughout the duration of the article. For example, what one person thinks the motives of the shooter are is just one person’s opinion, not what the actual motives were for committing the crime. At this point, it is too early to tell what the shooter’s motives were. Since it is not known yet were the motives are, a person telling us what he or she thinks are the motives is an opinion, not news. Since the authors disguise these opinions as news, it is bias. In addition, there seems to be some imbalanced reporting. The authors discuss in-depth about the shooter and his background, but the authors only briefly mention the families who have been affected by this horrific shooting--an important omission. The authors should recognize the pain and suffering that these families must be going through at this time.

Image:

Police Take Shooter Into Custody

http://heavy.com/news/2015/11/colorado-springs-planned-parenthood-shooting-gunman-suspect-police-officers-shot-victims-injuries-deaths-photos-video-name-propane-tanks-twitter/

By: Jason R and Calista M